Teahan & Constantino Memo: “Estate Planning Under the New Tax Act: Uncertainties Temporarily Resolved”

Reprinted with permission:

 

2010 was a strange and unsettled year for persons wishing to plan their estates and/or make current transfers of their assets. Many, but by no means all, of the uncertainties were resolved on December 17, 2010, when President Obama signed theTax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the “2010 Act”). The 2010 Act particularly resolved concerns that the gift, estate and Generation Skipping Transfer (“GST”) tax rules would be applied on a retroactive and unfavorable basis to decedents dying in 2010 (during which these taxes had been repealed).

 

The most important gift, estate and GST tax provisions of the 2010 Act will be effective for only two years, and the resolution of many issues is more apparent than real. Such is the price for another compromise by a legislature that, for institutional reasons, has been unable to enact rational transfer tax legislation for at least a decade.

 

To add to the complications facing planners and clients, there remain a number of estate tax planning problems for New York residents (and residents of other states which continue to have estate taxes), which were not addressed by the 2010 Act.

 

Download full text of memo on Estate Planning under the New Tax Act, thanks to:

Vincent L. Teahan

 

Teahan & Constantino

Counsellors at Law

41 Front St., Suite A

P.O. Box 1181

Millbrook NY 12545

tel 845 677 2101

fax 845 677 1054

 

 

 

Related articles

• Beyond Taxes: 10 Reasons Why Americans Without Taxable Estates Need an Estate Plan (press.rocketlawyer.com)
• Reporting Requirements for Gift Tax 2010 (brighthub.com)
• Married? Take Advantage of 2011 Taxes in your Estate Plan(press.rocketlawyer.com)
• [EOC]JCT Summarizes Federal Estate and Gift Taxes From 1975-2011(blogs.forbes.com)
• Estate Tax Steps For This Year (blogs.forbes.com)
• New Tax Law Offers Trust Options (online.wsj.com)

 

Port your existing number to Google Voice

Google Voice helps you manage your communications by giving you more control over your phones and voicemail, but until this week, you had to get a new Google phone number in order use all of Google Voice’s features. With Number Porting, existing Google Voice users can now use their mobile numbers as their Google Voice numbers. This means you can now use all of Google Voice’s features, like ringing multiple phones at once, without having to change your number.

To get started with Number Porting, log in to your Google Voice account, visit the settings page and click on “Change / Port” next to your Google Voice number. Be sure to read Google’s blog post for more info about Number Porting.

Related articles

• You Can Now Port Your Own Number to Google Voice [Google Voice](gizmodo.com)
• Number porting now available to current users of Google Voice(slashgear.com)
• Google Voice Rolls Out Number Porting for All Users [Video](lifehacker.com)
• ProTip: Want To Port Your Number To Google Voice, But Don’t Want To Cancel Your Contract? Call Ahead. (androidpolice.com)
• Number porting arrives on Google Voice (zdnet.com)
• Now You Can Port Your Existing Phone Number To Google Voice(googletutor.com)

 

NYLJ: Court Applies Deviation Authorized by New Divorce Laws, Reduces Maintenance Obligation of Husband

Supreme Court, Kings

Family Law

The Court, inter alia, determines that the new mandatory pendente lite maintenance guidelines and pendente lite counsel fee statutes enacted by the legislature should be deviated from where the calculations will result in the payee spouse having more monies available than the payor spouse as a result of the calculation. The Court also determines that the shift in financial resources that results from the guideline calculation rebuts the presumption of the payor spouse being the “monied” spouse.

Scott M., Plaintiff v. Ilona M., Defendant [Full text ]